Professional

Baxter's Buzz - 2 Months of Buzz - #29


Desean Jackson is a professional athlete. He plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and is one of the best at his position. He is on last year of his contract and they haven't given him a new contract yet. This is a very sensitive issue for NFL players because their contracts are not guaranteed and their careers don't last very long. One of the things the NFL team can do is "franchise" the player once the player's contract ends. That gives that particular player a salary of the top 5 players at his position. Sounds good right? Its only a 1 year contract and it deters other teams from signing that player because of the type of compensation they'd have to give up. So essentially, they are forced to sign a 1 year deal with the team that didn't give them a long-term deal to begin with.


We are all looking for security and a series of 1 year "deals" wouldn't make any of us happy, especially an NFL player, who's average career spans 3 years. With all of that being said, Desean has not represented himself in a professional manner.


Unless some things change drastically for me, I'll never make millions in a year. I have been in situations where I felt very disrespected by management, but I'd NEVER act in that manner! It does no good. I think about how I've gone about things when I have had problems, and famous or not, I cannot see myself going against my moral code, but also embarrassing myself and ruining my reputation.


How do you handle disputes in your job when you feel like you're being underpaid?